HONOLULU, O’ahu – Louisiana suffocated Hawaii all night on defense, forcing 19 turnovers as the Ragin’ Cajuns stunned the host Rainbow Warriors 61-59 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Louisiana (3-6) will face the Ohio Bobcats (7-3) Friday at 11:30 p.m. (CT) in game eight of the 44th Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic. Ohio narrowly defeated St. John’s 71-69 in the first game of the tournament.
Elijah Millsap (Grambling, La.) finished with a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with two steals, despite shooting 0-for-11. In his last four games, Millsap has gone 2-for-30 (6.7 percent). Late in the second half, Millsap dislocated the pinky finger on his non-shooting hand, but came back in for the game’s final 20 seconds.
Louisiana shot 31 percent from the field, going 5-of-15 from beyond the three-point arc. Hawai`I shot 38.2 percent, while shooting a dismal 13.3 percent from three-point range.
“Last night during our film session, I challenged Elijah to step up defensively,” Louisiana head coach Robert Lee said. “I told him I didn’t care if he didn’t score a point, so long as he played well on defense.
“Elijah’s job was to defend,” Lee said. “Of course, I didn’t expect him to go 0-for-11, but the defensive job he did on Bobby Nash was outstanding.
“Even after Elijah dislocated his finger, he comes to me during the timeout and asked me to go into the game to defend Nash. Then, he goes in a steals the ball to help us win the game.”
Sophomore Randell Daigle (Lafayette, La.) led the way for Louisiana with a career-high 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting along with a career-best five assists.
Both Courtney Wallace (New Orleans, La.) and Abray Milson (Lafayette, La.) set new career rebounding highs, tallying nine and eight respectively.
Matt Gibson and Riley Luettgerodt each chipped in a game-high 15 points, while Bobby Nash added 10 points.
Louisiana continued to turn up the pressure defensively on Hawai`i. However, the Cajuns would fall behind early in the second half as the Rainbow Warriors extended their lead to as many as six, 30-24. But, a 5-0 run by Louisiana pulled the Cajuns back to within one, 30-29.
Hawai`i followed with an identical 5-0 run to regain a six-point edge, 35-29. The contest would continue flip-flop as Louisiana would cut it close until Hawai`i regained its six-point lead.
That trend changed with the Cajuns trailing 40-34. After a Hawai`i basket, Daigle continued his three-point shooting clinic with a 23-footer from the top of the key, cutting it to 40-37. On the ensuing possession, David Dees (Dayton, Ohio) put up an easy floater in the lane to cut it to one, 40-39, forcing a Hawai`i timeout.
The ‘Bows answered with a 9-3 run, taking its largest lead of the game – seven points, 49-42. A fade-away by Chris Gradnigo (Lake Charles, La.) ended UH’s rally as it would start an 11-0 Louisiana run. Gradnigo then hit a triple from the right corner to tie the contest at 49 all.
Two free throws by La’Ryan Gary (Lafayette, La.) gave Louisiana the lead, 51-49, for the first time since the first half. Gradnigo followed with another outstanding hustle play, stealing the in-bounds pass and laying it in for a four-point UL cushion.
Hawai`i later tied it, 56-56, with 1:33 remaining in regulation on a Riley Luettgerodt free throw. Millsap would then give Louisiana a one-point lead, 57-56, at the charity stripe.
With 21 seconds left on the clock, Daigle drained both freebies to give Louisiana a 59-56 edge.
Louisiana missed its first 10 field goals of the first half as the hosting Rainbow Warriors took an early 6-0 lead. Louisiana’s drought, however, who end quickly as the Cajuns’ defense kick-started an 8-0 run.
Bureau’s trey from the left corner provided Louisiana with its first points of the game, cutting the UH lead to 6-3 at the 14:44 mark. Then, Tyren Johnson (Edgard, La.) stole the ensuing in-bounds pass and ended it with an emphatic slam dunk in transition.
Stephen Verwers then lost the ball as Hawai`i its way up court. The ball landed in the hands of Daigle who drilled a 24-foot jumped from the top of the key, giving the Cajuns their first lead of the contest, 8-6.
Louisiana’s two-point edged lasted for two minutes until Matt Gibson hit a triple from the left corner to give Hawai`i a one-point lead, 9-8.
A second deep three-pointer by Daigle regained a two-point cushion for the Cajuns, 11-9, with 11:17 to play. P.J. Owsley answered with a jumper in the paint, knotting the contest at 11 all.
The Cajuns responded with a Gary lay-in to tie the game at 13-13. Hawai`i then went on a 5-0 run to take an 18-13 lead before Gary ended the Bows’ rally with an 18-footer to cut it to 18-15.
Louisiana would go into the locker room down just two points, 24-22, thanks to a huge block on Nash by Gary which resulted in a Corey Bloom (New Orleans, La.) transition lay-up.
Despite shooting just 26 percent from the field in the first half, Louisiana managed to keep the Hawai`i halftime lead to two points. Daigle led all scorers with six points thanks to a pair of long-distance triples. Gary and Bloom each chipped in four points for the Cajuns.
The Rainbow Warriors shot 34.4 percent from the floor, while going a dismal 1-for-7 (14.3 percent) from three-point range. Gibson led the ‘Bows with five points, while three others added four each.
Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns will return to the hardwood Friday when they face the Ohio Bobcats in championship play at the Stan Sheriff Center. Tip-off is set for 11:30 p.m. (CT). Friday’s game will be televised on KLFT-TV (Cox Digital Channel 135) in Lafayette.
RaginCajuns.com
Opponent View: Well rested UH ready for UL
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Re: Louisiana vs Hawai'i (Wednesday)
Originally Posted by cjntgr
